Bible: Deu 28:15-68

Curses as Reversal of Blessings

28:15 “But ifyou ignore1the Lordyour Godand are not careful to keepallhis commandmentsand statutesIam givingyou today, then allthesecurseswill comeuponyou in full force:228:16Youwill be cursedin the cityand cursedin the field.28:17Your basketand your mixing bowlwill be cursed.28:18Your children3will be cursed, as well as the produceof your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambsof your flocks.28:19You will be cursedwhen youcomein and cursedwhen yougo out.4

Curses by Defeat and Deportation

28:25 “The Lordwill allowyou to be struckdown beforeyour enemies; you will attack them from onedirectionbut fleefrom themin sevendirectionsand will become an object of terror15to allthe kingdomsof the earth.28:26Your carcasseswill befoodfor everybirdof the skyand wild animalof the earth, and there will be noone to chase them off.28:27The Lordwill afflictyou with the boilsof Egyptand with tumors, eczema, and scabies, all of whichcannotbe healed.28:28The Lordwill also subjectyou to madness, blindness, and confusionof mind.1628:29You will feelyour way alongat noonlikethe blindperson does in darknessand you will notsucceedin anything you do;17you will beconstantlyoppressedand continuallyrobbed, with noone to saveyou.28:30You will be engagedto a womanand anothermanwill rape18her. You will builda housebut notlive in it. You will planta vineyardbut noteven beginto use it.28:31Your oxwill be slaughteredbefore your very eyesbut you will noteatof it. Your donkeywill be stolenfromyou as you watch and will notbe returnedto you. Your flockof sheep will be givento your enemiesand there will be noone to saveyou.28:32Your sonsand daughterswill be givento anotherpeoplewhileyou lookon in vainallday, and you will be powerlesstodo anything about it.1928:33As for the produceof your landand allyour labor, a peopleyou do notknowwill consumeit, and you will benothing butoppressedand crushedfor the restof your lives.28:34You willgo insanefrom seeingall this.28:35The Lordwill afflictyou in your kneesand onyour legswith painful, incurableboils– from the solesof your feettothe top ofyour head.28:36The Lordwill force youand your king20whomyou will appointoveryou togoaway toa peoplewhomyouand your ancestorshave notknown, and youwill serveothergodsof woodand stonethere.28:37You will becomean occasion of horror, a proverb, and an object of ridiculeto allthe peoplesto whomthe Lordwill driveyou.

The Curse of Reversed Status

28:38 “You will takemuchseedto the fieldbut gatherlittleharvest, becauselocustswill consumeit.28:39You will plantvineyardsand cultivatethem, but you will notdrinkwineorgatherin grapes, becausewormswill eatthem.28:40You will have olivetrees throughoutyour territorybut you will notanointyourself with olive oil, becausethe oliveswill drop off the trees while still unripe.2128:41You will bearsonsand daughtersbut notkeep them, becausethey will be taken into captivity.28:42Whirring locusts22will take over everytreeand allthe produceof your soil.28:43The foreigners23who reside amongyou will become higherand higheroveryou and youwill become lowerand lower.28:44They will lendto youbut you will notlendto them; they will becomethe headand youwill becomethe tail!

The Curse of Military Siege

28:47 “Becauseyou have notservedthe Lordyour Godjoyfullyand wholeheartedlywith the abundanceof everythingyou have,28:48instead in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and poverty27you will serveyour enemieswhomthe Lordwill sendagainst you. They28 will placean ironyokeonyour neckuntilthey have destroyedyou.28:49The Lordwill raiseup a distantnationagainstyou, one from the other side of the earth29asthe eagleflies,30a nationwhoselanguageyou will notunderstand,28:50a nationof sternappearance thatwill have noregardfor the elderlyorpityfor the young.28:51They31 will devourthe offspringof your livestockand the produceof your soiluntilyou are destroyed. They will notleaveyou with any grain, new wine, olive oil, calves of your herds,32or lambsof your flocks33untilthey have destroyedyou.28:52They will besiegeallof your villages34untilall of your highand fortifiedwallscollapse– those in whichyouput your confidencethroughoutthe land. They will besiegeallyour villagesthroughoutthe landthe Lordyour Godhasgivenyou.28:53You will theneatyour own offspring,35the fleshof the sonsand daughtersthe Lordyour Godhasgiven you, because of the severityof the siege36by whichyour enemieswill constrictyou.28:54The manamong you who is by naturetenderand sensitivewill turn againsthis brother, his belovedwife, and his remainingchildren.28:55He willwithholdfrom allof themhis children’sfleshthathe iseating(since there isnothing else left), because of the severityof the siegeby whichyour enemywill constrict37you in your villages.28:56Likewise, the most38 tenderand delicateof your women, whowould neverthinkof puttingeven the soleof her footonthe groundbecause of her daintiness,39will turn againsther beloved husband, her sonsand daughters,28:57and will secretly eather afterbirth40and her newbornchildren41(sinceshe has nothing else),42 becauseof the severityof the siegeby whichyour enemywill constrictyou in your villages.

The Curse of Covenant Termination

28:58 “Ifyou refuseto obey43allthe wordsof thislaw, the things writtenin this scroll, and refuse to fearthisgloriousand awesomename, the Lordyour God,28:59then the Lordwill increaseyour punishmentsand those of your descendants– greatand long-lastingafflictionsand severe, enduringillnesses.28:60He will infect you with allthe diseasesof Egypt44thatyou dreaded, and they will persistentlyafflictyou.4528:61Moreover, the Lordwill bring uponyou everykind of sicknessand plaguenotmentioned inthis scrollof commandments,46untilyou have perished.28:62Therewill be very fewof you left, though at one time you wereas numerousas the starsin the sky,47becauseyou will havedisobeyed48the Lordyour God.28:63This is what will happen: Justas the Lorddelightedto do goodfor you and make you numerous, he49will take delightindestroyingand decimatingyou. You will be uprootedfrom the landyouare aboutto possess.28:64The Lordwill scatteryou among allnations, from one endof the earthtothe other. Thereyou will worshipothergodsthatneither younor your ancestorshave known, gods of woodand stone.28:65Among thosenationsyou will have norestnorwill there bea place of peaceful restfor the solesof your feet, for therethe Lordwill giveyou an anxiousheart, failingeyesight, and a spiritof despair.28:66Your lifewill hangin doubt beforeyou; you will be terrifiedby nightand dayand will have nocertaintyof survivingfrom one day to the next.5028:67In the morningyou will say, ‘If onlyitwere evening!’ And in the eveningyou will say, ‘I wishitweremorning!’ becauseof the thingsyou will fearand the thingsyou will see.28:68Then the Lordwill make you returnto Egyptbyship, over a routeI saidto you that you would neverseeagain. Thereyou will sellyourselves to your enemiesas male and femaleslaves, but noone will buyyou.”